Things That Are Annoying Me Today

Facebook

I want to see pictures of my friend's adorable kids, dogs, homes, etc.

I want to see status updates on what my friends are doing today.

I posted one simple status about my husband half masting our neighborhood flags despite the white house's statement on remaining "neutral" on the tragedy in Chattanooga.

That one post turned into a straight up people posting their political views.

All I wanted to let people know was that this was our way of remembering our fallen service members...

It was in no way politically motivated.

Politics

I have very passionate friends. 

I am a passionate person, so it makes sense that the people I call friends are passionate.

However, people shoving their politics down my throat via Facebook is straight up annoying. 

Posting your little "articles" supporting or bashing a political figure isn't going to change MY mind on MY politics, and what I believe in.

I'm an intelligent human being (at least my parents tell me I am, dammit!), and I have very person reasons for my political views.

I don't advertise them, and I only talk about them behind closed doors at my "kitchen table" with close friends that I trust.

Your Facebook post isn't changing my mind...it's just annoying me to death.

My Son

I am human, and any parent who has never been annoyed by their child(ren) are LIARS!

He is currently banging on the door to the backyard and screaming bloody murder because I won't let him go outside in the blistering Texas heat.

I am choosing to ignore his negative behavior right now until he calms down.

Young College Girls

Nick had a young college girl whisper in class about how old he was.

"OH MY GAWWWWD!!! LIKE....SERIOUSLY...HOW OLD IS HE?!?! HE MUST BE LIKE 30!!!!!!!!" (dead serious...that's exactly how she said it).

Actually...he's almost 32 little girl.

And while you were taking your SAT's to get into college that your mommy and daddy are probably paying for...he was sitting in a hot ass desert in Afghanistan killing Taliban.

I should have more compassion since she's so young, inexperienced, and just...well...young....

But it just really annoyed me because she sounded like a spoiled and entitled brat. 

Lord help me understand...

That's my prayer for myself today....

Only 4 things in a jam packed day, and the day isn't even over yet...

Not bad, right?

My optimistic self is saying...

"You only have 4 things bothering you today! That's a great day!"

And some things to make you smile and be proud to be an American...

This beautiful Texas night sky I captured on my iPhone the other night...

The freedom to be a woman and go for a run in the middle of the day wearing a tank top and shorts!

There are countries out there where I would be looked at as practically naked for showing so much skin!!!!! The horror!

Dannika's first day at Christ United Methodist's Vacation Bible School!

Nick and I are not Methodists (we are non denominational), but CUMC's VBS was recommended to us by SO many friends!

She had such a blast!

Smile!

MIA

Did I forget to tell y'all I started college this week?

It's the reason why this blog has taken a back seat.

Since my husband is a full time active duty Marine/college student, I figured now is better than ever to go ahead use those trusty GI Bill/veterans benefits!

I've been putting it off since I got out, because honestly...when I discharged from the Marine Corps, I was SO OVER LIFE!

I just wanted to relax without a care in the world, take care of my kids, and most importantly enjoy my freedom from Uncle Sam.

I had no intention of being a slave to Uncle Sam for 10 years to immediately becoming a slave to an institution of higher learning.

I needed a breather from Marine Corps life.

But here I am...

I'm done with my "breather", and ready to move on to y next chapter of my life. 

Thankfully, I took a lot of college in my off duty time while active duty, and a lot of my military education also transfers over as credits, so I'm not totally starting from scratch as a freshman!!!

So sorry for neglecting this blog!!!!

So, since I have a few minutes...

Here's an update on my life through photos!!!

We bought his Camaro powerwheels for Dannika for Christmas before she was really even old enough to drive it.

Then of course, we moved to Massachusetts with its' eternal winters (and cheating football team...), so the Camaro didn't get much drive time.

But she's officially back in commission here in good ole Texas!

Mattis loves being Dannika's passenger, and this Camaro has officially made Dannika the coolest kid in the neighborhood.

My favorite photo of the week....ever.

Mattis just got out of the bath, and peed all over the floor. 

The best part was that he's never seen his own pee come out, and he was SO fascinated by it.

Once he was done peeing, he was SO proud of it, and kept smiling and pointing to his little puddle of pee.

He kept pointing to it and screaming, "Wo wo!! wo wo!!" (his word for "water")

Just a sweet moment of my kiddos morning routine...teeth brushing.

We went fishing over the long MLK holiday.

What was supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip by the lake turned out to be less than perfect.

Regardless of how awesome these photos look........

Dannika and I put some Honest Company (deet free) bug repellent on....

Honest Company bug repellent repels bugs.....

Attracts Bees....

Dannika and I got swarmed by bees....

Dannika and I ended up screaming and running around like banshees being chased by swarms of bees...

Dannika and I sat in Nick's truck watching Mattis and Nick fish.......

Mattis stuck his hand in an ant bed....

Ants swarmed Mattis' hand...

everyone freaked out...

we went home....no fish

Oh and poor Mattis has bites ALL over his hand and little ant blisters....poor baby.

The weather was GORG last weekend so I got go on a nice little run with Mattis.

Nick and Dannika planted their winter garden....

I have NO green thumb, so I made the cute signs...

 I decided to layer framed photos on these cool indents in our walls....

This is just a "prototype", and I am planning on painting the inside of those archways a darker color...

I was giving my D some lovins' and Mattis was JEALOUS....

I seriously want Dannika's wardrobe...

Why can't they make adult wardrobes so cute and cheap like hers?!?!

So there's my life so far!!

I won't be blogging as much since school is taking up SO MUCH DANG TIME!!!

But I promise to at least keep it updated once a week, and I PROMISE to keep up with y'all!

The New Years "Resolutioners"

As a long time "gym goer", I've always dreaded this time of year.

I've even taken the month of January off from the gym and stuck to at home work outs just to avoid it.

For my fellow "gym buffs", y'all know that this is when the "New Years resolutioners" hit the gym in full force causing crowding in gyms all across the nation.

 

Completely shameless "gym selfie".

 

My definition of a "New Years resolutioner"...

Someone who:

1) Doesn't normally work out regularly

2) Feels guilty about what they ate during the holidays (Thanksgiving until now)

3) Is normally a "gym goer", but stopped going over the holidays, and is trying to "get back on the train"

 

And lastly...

 

4) Made a New Years resolution to lose weight and get in shape this year (as they do EVERY year).

Their motto is always, "This is THE year! For real this time!"

 

To be honest, these people used to annoy me.

They used to annoy me to all hell!!!

I used to enjoy watching the gym become less and less packed as the month of January wore on.

It meant people were saying "screw it", and going back to their old ways.

Then I could finally have "my gym" back with all the "regulars" I was used to seeing.

 

As I've gotten older and "more mature" (not totally mature yet....lol), I've learned to be a little bit more patient and grew a little more compassion in my heart.

 

With the obesity rate in America at an all time high, and diseases like diabetes and heart disease being so rampant amongst us, I am all about a "healthier America".

After the New Year, I went to my gym at the same time I always do with a positive outlook.

I had the mentality that maybe I can motivate someone to continue coming for the rest of their life instead of quitting a month into it.

While statistically, the gym will start dying down once the end of the month comes, I hope that at least ONE person decides to change their lifestyle for a healthier, fitter life.

So instead of being annoyed at the crowds in the gym, and being annoyed that I had to wait for a machine...

 I switched up my work out to accommodate the machines that WERE open,

Something as simple as changing your attitude and your outlook at the gym can make your January gym experience way more enjoyable.

 

Motivate someone...and take more gym selfies!

I like to take candid photos of my hot husband while he lifts/squats.

Another shameless gym selfie!

10 Year Fallujah Reunion/Cali Vacay

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the famous Battle of Fallujah in the Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom).

The first Battle of Fallujah was in April of 2004, and the second Battle of Fallujah was in November of 2004.

Straight from Wikipedia:

The Second Battle of Fallujah—code-named Operation Al-Fajr (Arabic,الفجر "the dawn") and Operation Phantom Fury—was a joint American, Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S. Marine Corps against the Iraqi insurgency stronghold in the city of Fallujah and was authorized by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government. The U.S. military called it "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968."^[14][15]
This operation was the second major operation in Fallujah. Earlier, in April 2004, coalition forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah in order to capture or kill insurgent elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team. When coalition forces fought into the center of the city, the Iraqi government requested that the city's control be transferred to an Iraqi-run local security force, which then began stockpiling weapons and building complex defenses across the city through mid-2004.^[16] The second battle was the bloodiest battle of the entire Iraq War, and is notable for being the first major engagement of the Iraq War fought solely against insurgents rather than the forces of the former Ba'athist Iraqi government, which was deposed in 2003.

My husband Nick was part of the second battle (Operation Al-Fajr).

He was with 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, Golf Battery...an artillery battery turned provisional rifle company.

Along with fighting in this historic battle, he also did security for the Iraq elections that year in Mudayasis, Iraq. 

It's one of the most life changing events in my husband's life, and it's a time that he talks little about.

For as long as we've been married, I've learned bits and pieces about his time in Fallujah through stories from friends, reading warrants for awards he received, and on occasion, he'd tell me a light hearted story about his time there.

I know it's a battle that turned, my then 21 year old husband, into a battle hardened man.

He wears medals on his chest from that battle that Marines do double takes at when he's in uniform.

I know questions burn in their minds on how/where/when he got those awards.

I'm his wife, and I still don't know the full story.

But I do know that I'm proud of him for all he's done up until this point in his career, and I can tell you he is one of the most humble men I know.

He'll never brag or boast about his "time at war" like some Marines do (most of whom have never done anything in war).

In fact, I know he's great because of the stories I hear from the great men that he worked with and fought beside in this battle...they'll brag and boast about Nick all day long...

I guess that's how you know you're respected...

When others want to talk about your accomplishments more than you do.

Nick never attended his 10 year high school reunion, nor did he give it a single thought.

High school was merely a point in his life he had to get through to become a Marine, and he really didn't care to go back to the small town in Alabama that he grew up in.

Small town = Big drama

When he found out that 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton was hosting a 10 year Fallujah reunion, he didn't hesitate to buy two tickets to California so that we could attend.

A perk to being back in Texas is being able to ask my mom to come and watch the kids so that we could go on our little mini vacay to California!!!!

The reunion was well executed and thoughtful.

The guest speaker was General Natonski (ret.) who was the commander of forces during the battle of Fallujah.

He told stories of heroes during that battle, and told stories about what it was like in Fallujah during that time.

He talked about sitting on a roof top in the city and watching a jet drop bombs on a building across the street filled with insurgents and demolishing it.

This is a photo of Nick, me, and General Nicholson.

General Nicholson was originally supposed to be in General Natonski's position in Fallujah, but he was injured by an IED blast in Iraq, and was medevac'd to receive treatment for his wounds.

Col Frasier (ret.) and Nick.

Col Frasier was Nick's Commanding Officer in Iraq.

He also wrote Nick an glowing recommendation letter for his MECEP package, and I can't say that his recommendation letter didn't have something to do with us being here in College Station today.

California will always be my second home. 

The sunshine and beauty of Southern California can't be beat!

I love going to California because we have so many close friends there!!

My best friend Kim, graciously opened the doors to her home to us so that we could crash!

She even let us have her Tahoe for the weekend whenever we needed it!

That's friendship right there!

Nick and Kim's son, Logan cuddling.

Kim's husband is currently in Iraq, so her boys really enjoyed having a dude around the house.

Of course we couldn't leave beautiful California without going for a run in the gorgeous weather!

Kim and I walked through some of the model homes in an new subdivision in Orange County.

I found my perfect OC home!

Lastly, we met up with our good friend Mike to have a drink!

Mike and I were recruiters together, and he took great care of me while I was pregnant!!!!

We're so thankful for him and we love him...if you can't tell by Nick's gesture....lol

We had such an amazing time in California!

Every time I go visit California, I am reminded of just how blessed we are as a family to have gotten to live there for so long.

What's even better is that this time, we got to come home to Texas!

TMNT Birthday

What a weekend we had!!!!

Nick's birthday was yesterday, but we celebrated on Saturday. 

We threw a joint party for him and our neighbor, Dan (who's birthday is on Wednesday).

I asked Nick while he was at OCS what he wanted to do for his birthday, and being the "simpleton" that he is, all he wanted to do was grill out with the neighbors.

So that's exactly what we did!

And because every man deserves a Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles party...

He was not a fan of the party hat.

Dan celebrated his 22nd birthday....lol.

Of course, Nick wanted car parts for his birthday.

I got him this B&M star shifter for his car.

Nick got an ice cream cake from Ben & Jerry's (his favorite).

A birthday cigar...

 Ribs, burgers, salad, pasta salad, cheese plate, my famous chicken salsa dip....perfection.

Nick, of course, wanted to take the guys out for a ride in his car.

The birthday boys!

As for yesterday, Nick's actual birthday...

We didn't do much.

We started the morning off with a cranky baby...

Then church...

Nick wanted to have breakfast at one of our favorite local breakfast spots, Station Grille in Natick.

And he bailed on me to go on a birthday run, so I ran all by my lonesome....

My pace was a few seconds slower than Saturday's run, but I also ran a more hilly route.

I'll take this week off from hitting the pavement, and do more strength and conditioning at the gym.

Also...my running tip for the day (and I'm not expert...but this is just something I learned from running experts...like Runner's World magazine)....

If you are subjecting yourself to do treadmill work outs, make sure you run at a slight incline. 

I usually keep it at a 2.0, but 1.0 is fine too!

It mimics outdoor running.

You'll also notice a dramatic difference when you run outdoors on how much easier the transition from treadmill to pavement is!

This is just from personal experience as well!!